Three weeks later…

“Ma!” Henry yelled from the porch. “Stage’s comin’!”

Lily and Ma hurried to finish setting the table as Henry came through the screen door. Oscar had installed just that morning. It was warm for early May in Oregon, but Lily and the rest of the family hoped it stayed that way for a few days. Last week it had rained like Noah’s flood, and they were hoping to dry out.

“Think we’ll be full up?” Henry asked.

“Now, Henry,” Ma said. “Ya know’s well as I do we won’t know ‘til it gets here. Ya bring my wood in yet?”

“Did Lily bake another cake?”

“Thass none o’ yer business ‘til it’s time fer dessert. Now, my wood?”

Henry grinned cockily. “I brought it in a few minutes ago, Ma. Ya been in here a while.”

“Thass ‘cause o’th’extra work from havin’ so many folks here last night. I cain’t ‘member bein’ so busy.”

“Good thing yer here now, Lily,” Henry said in all seriousness. “It sure helps Ma out, and makes her happy. Makes me happy too – ‘specially when ya bake a cake.”

Lily was still adjusting to Henry’s ways. “Thank you, I’m glad to be here. And Henry?”

“Yeah?”

“Yes, I made a cake tonight. But keep your fingers out of it or you won’t get any.”

Henry stared at his shoes. “Yes, ma’am.”

Lily laughed and gave him a quick peck on the cheek as the stage pulled up in front of the house. “Well,” she said, “here we go.” By now she was used to the routine. Most of the time, Ma kept her busy in the kitchen and with other household chores, staying ready for the stage passengers. This freed Oscar to help his brothers build the corral for the cattle coming soon. The Cookes had sent word via Willie the last time he came through that their wedding present was already on its way.

Unfortunately, Anson had been hoping for another message, one that hadn’t yet come. So far there was no letter from Emeline Turner. He understood he needed to be patient, but he couldn’t hide his disappointment.

“I hope Willie’s got sumpin’ fer Anson t’day,” Ma said as if reading Lily’s thoughts. “That boy o’ mine’s been prancing ‘round the last week like a nervous horse.”

“He’s not the only one waiting,” Lily added. “I still haven’t heard back from Belle or Sadie.”

“And I’m wonderin’ what’s for supper,” Oscar boomed behind them.

Both women jumped. “Land sakes, Oscar!” Ma cried. “Don’t do that!”

Oscar put an arm around each of them and gave them a hug. “Just playin’ with ya, Ma,” he said with a laugh.

Before either of them could respond, Willie opened the screen door for the first of the passengers. “Welcome to the Whites’ Stage Stop, Mrs. Cooke.”

Lily turned to look, then barreled around the table. “Sadie! What are you doing here?”

“I thought I’d surprise you with a little visit. I’m afraid Belle couldn’t come – she has too many children to look after. Thankfully my eldest Honoria is taking my place while I’m gone.”

Lily couldn’t stop grinning. “Oh my goodness, this is wonderful! I’m sorry Belle couldn’t come, but … this is wonderful!”

Sadie laughed and turned to Ma. “Mrs. White, I’ll thank you now for your hospitality, but don’t be afraid to put me to work.”

“Believe me, chile, I won’t be ‘fraid,” Ma laughed.

“Did ya know she was comin’?” Oscar asked his mother with a smile.

“‘Course I did – Willie brought me a note last time he was here, ‘n I thought I’d let’t be a s’prise.”

Oscar laughed and shook his head. “Well, it sure is!”

The passengers filed in – a young couple with a baby, and a woman that looked about Lily’s age. They all did what passengers usually did the moment they walked through the door – namely, stared at Ma. But she took it in stride. “Welcome, folks!” she slurred as she hustled out to the counter and opened the guestbook. “I’m Mrs. White. Ya can sign in here, ‘n Lily’ll show ya t’yer rooms. Ya got anythin’ heavy we need t’bring up?”

The young couple shook their heads. “N-n-n-no, ma’am,” the gentleman said.

“‘N you are?”

“Mr. and Mrs. Samuel B-Beecher, ma’am.”

They couldn’t be more than twenty, Lily thought, their baby perhaps a year old. The young mother, a petite blonde, shifted the child from hip to hip as it squirmed in her arms. They both looked haggard. “Here, let me take your satchels for you,” Lily said, feeling the urge to relieve the poor souls from at least some of their burdens.

“Thank you,” the mother said in relief.

“My pleasure.” She picked up both their satchels, wondering if the poor pair would fall asleep in their room and miss supper. She led them up the stairs to the second room on the right, explaining, “We have a cradle in here. I’m sure your little one will be comfortable in it.”

“If he ever stops moving,” Mrs. Beecher groaned. “He’s like this all the time. That long stage ride didn’t help.”

Lily opened the door and let them in. “I’m sure after he’s had a chance to play and rest, he’ll be fine.” Then again, what did she know – the child might cry all night. Wouldn’t that be a treat?

She tried not to dwell on the thought that she was no expert on motherhood – she’d never raised children. Maybe Sadie could enlighten her – she had four of her own. Ma had told her a few things concerning children, but her boys were grown men now. Sadie (and Belle) had more recent experience, as most of theirs were still young.

“Supper will be served in an hour,” Lily told them. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to show the other passengers to their rooms.”

Mr. Beecher nodded his thanks before turning back to his family. Lily slipped out, closed the door and hurried downstairs to find Sadie chatting with the other passenger, who now had a large trunk next to her. “Oh dear,” Lily muttered. “I think I’m going to need Henry’s help with that.”

“Oh, there’s no need,” the woman insisted. Her accent was flat, Midwestern, with just a touch of New England bray. “I can just remove what I need for the night.”

“Nonsense,” Lily assured her. “Henry won’t mind carrying it up to your room and bringing it down in the morning. It’ll be fine.”

“Well, as long as it’s no trouble …”

“She’s right, Henry won’t mind,” Sadie said, then turned to Lily. “This is Miss Evangeline Norton. She’s a schoolteacher.”

“Oh?” Lily said with interest. “Are you going to Oregon City to visit family or to work?”

“Actually, I’m not going that far. I’m traveling to The Dalles to take up a teaching position there.”

“The Dalles?” Lily said, then looked at Sadie.

“It’s a town up on the Columbia River between here and Portland,” Sadie explained. “I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never been there myself.”

“Oh, I see,” Lily said. “Welcome to Oregon, Miss Norton. I only recently came to Oregon from Denver.”

Miss Norton smiled stiffly. “I’m from Cleveland, Ohio originally. By your accent, I gather you came to Denver from the South?”

“Charleston, South Carolina,” Lily confirmed, noticing her unease. The War Between the States might have ended a decade before, but it remained fresh in people’s memories. Lily hoped Miss Norton hadn’t lost too much in the war, but from the look on her face, she’d obviously lost a few. Now here she was, being greeted by a Texan and a Carolinian … well, at least she was being a lady about it. “I’d best get Henry,” Lily continued, hoping to ease the tension.

It seemed to work. “I … I’m terribly sorry,” Miss Norton stammered. “I didn’t mean to stare.”

“Think nothing of it,” Lily said. She had to remain hospitable, after all, but she did wonder. Well, she’d make sure not to bring up the war – that would only cause trouble. She went into the kitchen and found Henry munching on a cookie. “Henry, I need your help. And stay out of those – you’ll spoil your supper.”

Henry chuckled, stuffed the rest of the cookie into his mouth and followed Lily into the front room. “What do ya need, Lily?”

“Can you take Miss Norton’s trunk up to her room and …” Lily stopped. Henry was staring at Miss Norton much the same way she’d been staring at Lily earlier. “Oh no.” Ma and Oscar had both warned her how easily Henry became infatuated with some of the women passengers, but had also said he wasn’t nearly as bad as he used to be. If that was the case, what was she to do about the puppy-dog look he was giving her?

Then she saw Miss Norton had a look on her face like she was trying to decide whether or not to take home the puppy! “Er … Henry? Miss Norton’s trunk?”

Henry jumped at her voice. “Oh yeah. Sorry, Lily.” He bent down, hefted the trunk onto one shoulder and straightened. “Which room?”

“Number four.” Lily turned to Miss Norton. “Follow me, please.”

Miss Norton took a last look at Henry then hurried after Lily. “My, but he’s strong, isn’t he?”

“Yes, he is. Almost as strong as my husband Oscar, Henry’s older brother.”

“I see. What a fine young man.” Miss Norton glanced over her shoulder and gave Henry a smile. He smiled back as he ascended the stairs, almost lost his balance, but righted himself and grinned. Miss Norton laughed. “Well done, sir. But please be careful.”

“Don’t ya worry, ma’am. I will!” Henry trotted up the remaining stairs and sauntered down the hall and into Miss Norton’s room, passing the women as he did. “Where would ya like it, ma’am?”

“Anywhere in the room is fine, thank you,” Miss Norton said. She sounded impressed. Oh dear – Henry would be beside himself for the rest of the evening, and likely beside Miss Norton if given half a chance. Lily hoped he remembered she was leaving in the morning.

Lily took a moment to study the schoolteacher as she, in turn, studied Henry. Miss Norton had light brown hair, blue eyes and an average build, a little thick around the middle. That made sense – she was clearly over thirty, and how much physical work was there to teaching children anyway? “Supper is in an hour,” she told her. “If you need anything in the meantime, just come downstairs and ask.”

“Ya can ask me too,” Henry gushed.

“Thank you, I’ll be sure to ask one of you should I need anything,” Miss Norton replied, smiling at Henry.

Lily nonchalantly covered her mouth with her hand as Henry continued grinning. And not moving. “Henry? We should go now.”

“Oh, uh, yeah …” He finally started moving his feet, though his eyes stayed fixed on Miss Norton.

Lily shook her head. This was not going to end well if he didn’t get whatever ideas he had in his head out of it. “Remember what I told you earlier about the cake?”

Henry’s head moved in her direction, but still not his eyes. “Uh-huh.”

Lily sighed and took Henry by the hand. She would have to tell Oscar about this, before it got worse. “Come on, we have chores to do.”

“Uh-huh,” Henry said, letting Lily drag him out while still smiling back at the teacher.

As soon as she closed the door behind them, Lily spun on her brother in-law. “Henry, what has gotten into you?” she admonished quietly. “You know it’s rude to stare.”

“Well … yeah, I know that.”

“Then why were you ogling Miss Norton like that?”

“But she stared at me first! Ain’t rude when they stare at ya first.”

Lily put her hands on her hips. “Who told you that?”

“Uh … I dunno. I just figgered …”

Lily was having a hard time staying angry – actually, she was having a hard time not laughing. Henry did have his own brand of logic. Finally she grinned and kissed him on the cheek. “Henry, I love you, you silly duck.”

Henry beamed. “Aw gee, Lily, thanks for sayin’ so. But don’t say it too loud, or Oscar’ll be jealous on account ya said ya loved me. I ain’t heard ya say that to him.”

Lily frowned. Merciful heavens, Henry was probably right! She liked him, certainly, even though they’d only been married a little over a month. But had she ever actually said so?

Was she really in love with him? Or did she just appreciate what he’d done for her? Now that Henry had brought it up, she’d have to examine how she felt. She’d fallen into the family’s busy routine over the last few weeks, and it hadn’t left much time to pay attention to her feelings. Did she love him?

“What’s the matter, Lily?” Henry asked.

Lily jumped. “Oh goodness …”

Henry laughed. “Sorry to startle ya. But I thought ya said we had chores?”

She quickly nodded and rubbed her temples. “Yes, we do. I have to help Oscar with the rolls, and I think he wanted you to help Willie.”

“I’ll ask him. C’mon, let’s not be flappin’ our gums on the stairs, or Ma’ll tan our hides.”

She smiled. “Aren’t we a little old for that?”

“She don’t think I am, or she wouldn’t threaten to do it.”

Lily laughed. “Oh, Henry, you really are special.” She wrapped her arm through his, and together they went downstairs.